Intrepid CEO on Cutting Emissions And Acquiring Accommodations

12.06.2024 - 17:59 / skift.com / James Thornton / Jesse ChaseLubitz

Intrepid CEO Talks Emissions Cut And Investing in Travel Lodging

Intrepid Travel, an operator of small group tours and adventure travel, has sought to establish itself as a leader in responsible tourism. Intrepid’s top boss said the company is actively involved in reducing its carbon footprint per trip while growing its business.

In an interview with Skift, Intrepid’s CEO James Thornton said that the company is reducing its carbon footprint by reducing its internal on-trip flights by 4,000 this year. The company also announced a range of 40 new train itineraries this week to encourage slow travel.

The moves come against a backdrop of increasingly extreme weather. In 2023, Intrepid Travel recorded 121 more climate-related incidents than the year before. Thornton said that while it’s difficult to guard against these events, the company relies on diverse offerings and destinations to pivot or adapt as needed.

The CEO also elaborated on the company’s new investment in accommodation. Intrepid has already invested in three locations and plans to open at least two more. In the last two weeks, the company hired an ex-Accor brand and growth strategist to run this hospitality venture.

Skift: Intrepid has long been championed as a leader in responsible tourism. Can you elaborate on how you’re currently working on reducing emissions and provide any insight on future plans?

James Thornton: Intrepid’s history in responsible travel dates back to its inception. The most recent moment for us was in 2020 when we were the first global tour operator to sign up for the Science Based Targets initiative. So we’ve been on that journey implementing those reduction targets and that really starts with trying to decarbonize our itineraries.

We’ve been moving more and more internal flights out of our itineraries. We’re now operating 4,000 fewer flights. Just to kind of explain how Intrepid operates on trips, we typically go from one destination to another destination. So if you’re in Vietnam, you might go from Hanoi in the north down to a hotel in the South. Typically, those itineraries, dependent on the length, would have had an internal flight component, but that’s the most carbona-intensive part of the experience. And so we’re removing the internal flights and replacing it with a local transport option. 

Skift: In 2023, you experienced an increase in climate-related incidents from 48 to 169. That’s a pretty big increase. What are you doing to guard against the impacts of climate disasters on your operations?

James Thornton: So 19 years ago, or even 10 years ago, climate-related instances were fleeting rather than a part of our everyday business. And it just felt to me in 2023, and suddenly into 2024, the number of floods,